NEW HAVEN, Conn. (September 22, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's volleyball team split a pair of matches in New Haven, Conn. Saturday, topping Old Westbury 3-1 to start the day, but falling to host Albertus Magnus College in the nightcap, 3-2.
Rutgers-Newark extended its win streak to eight before losing in a five-set thriller to the Falcons. R-N was able to come all the way back from a 2-0 deficit in the second match, but the Raiders were unable to close out AMC.
Newark moves to 10-3 on the season, and will return to the hardwood Tuesday at New Jersey Athletic Conference rival Kean University. Albertus Magnus moves to 7-5 on the season and Old Westbury drops to 1-10.
Rutgers-Newark 3, Old Westbury 1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-12, 25-14)
The Scarlet Raiders picked up their eighth-straight win to open Saturday's action, topping the Panthers 3-1 behind junior
Comfort Akinbo and freshman
Sharon Starling.
Akinbo put down 16 kills to lead the offense, adding two blocks to her line, while Starling pocketed 13 kills, an excellent eight service aces, eight digs and two blocks. Sophomore setter
Karly Gregoire had 34 assists to lead the R-N passers, while junior libero
Brione Lockett lifted a team-best 20 digs. Junior
Analis Capobianco had eight digs and two aces, while junior
Epiphani Woodard registered four kills and a pair of blocks.
Rutgers-Newark hit .190 in the match, racking up 61 points on 40 kills, 16 aces and five blocks. The Raider defense held OW to a .019 hitting percentage and 28 kills.
A 6-0 run early in the first had the Scarlet Raiders off to a strong start. The Panthers would get within three on several occasions – the last being 21-18 – but Rutgers-Newark scored the final four points in the set to take a 1-0 lead, clinching the set triumph on a Capobianco ace.
Despite a 5-0 start to the second set, the Scarlet Raiders faltered late as an 8-1 Old Westbury run allowed the Panthers to tie the match 1-1. Old Westbury looked to be carrying over the momentum in the third set, but Rutgers-Newark regained it with a 6-0 rally to open a 7-3 lead after 10 points. A 7-2 run midway through the set gave the Raiders an 18-7 advantage, and R-N cruised from there, locking up the 2-1 match lead with 6-of-7 to end the set.
Early in the fourth, a 5-0 run by the Scarlet Raiders spelled doom for the Panthers. Moments later, a 4-0 spurt put R-N up 19-9, and a Starling spike and OW error sealed Newark's 10th win of the season.
Albertus Magnus 3, Rutgers-Newark 2 (25-23, 25-22, 19-25, 19-25, 15-13)
Despite coming back from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set, Rutgers-Newark saw its winning streak stopped at eight by the host Falcons.
Akinbo had a career-high 25 kills and a .373 hitting percentage to lead the offense, with Starling tallying nine and Woodard posting six. Gregoire had 35 assists and Lockett chipped in with four as Shoukry led the blocking unit with three rejections. Lockett lifted a team-high 28 digs, with Greogire getting 11 for a double-double and Starling adding nine. Starling tied her career-high with nine aces, giving her a superb 17 for the day, while Lockett added four and both Capobianco and Shoukry had three.
After falling behind 2-0, Rutgers-Newark stormed back to force a fifth and final set. In the third, the Falcons ripped off five-straight points and looked ready to cruise to the win, but the Scarlet Raiders had other plans. R-N quickly came back to tie things at seven, and after trading points during the middle portion of the set, a 7-1 run to end it made it a 2-1 match. Akinbo had two kills in the rally and Capobianco delivered an ace.
The Scarlet Raiders raced in front to start the fourth, scoring 8-of-10 to build an 8-2 lead. Back-to-back winners from Woodard and sophomore
Dahlia Shoukry helped the Scarlet Raiders to a 22-11 margin, and despite a run from the hosts, R-N was able to pull even when Shoukry came through with a solo-block to end it.
Early in the fifth, the two teams went point-for-point, but a 3-0 run for the hosts made the score 9-7 in their favor and forced a Rutgers-Newark timeout. The Scarlet Raiders were able to get within one at 9-8, 10-9, 11-10 and 12-11 before pulling even (12-12) with back-to-back winners from Starling and Akinbo. Unfortunately, Albertus Magnus was able to score the final three points in the match after the guests went up 13-12 to earn the 3-2 victory.
Rutgers-Newark finished the nightcap with 70 points thanks to 45 kills, 20 aces and five blocks. AMC had 63 points on 54 kills and nine aces, hitting .191 compared to .160 for the Scarlet Raiders. The Falcons also held an 80-62 edge in digs and a 50-40 margin in assists.
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